When I asked the Halcro rep. about this, he essentially said that it is not economically feasible for the high-end companies to build an HD player anytime in the near future, and this did include Halcro, Meridian, and others.

I disagree. They're such a niche market and they're the niche market that would buy an HDM player. Generally when someone buys a true High End system they want High End players.